Our first adult short break of the year happened last weekend (12th - 14th January) and we stayed at Thornbridge Outdoors (something of a tradition for our January short break), part of the Thornbridge Estate in Ashford in the Water, Bakewell.
However, the weather didn’t keep the tradition going, as for the first time we can remember, it didn’t snow. Much to the disappointment of the Adventurers. Nevertheless, it was still bitterly cold over the weekend, so we were all glad to have a a high energy activity to warm us up.
When the groups arrived on Friday night, it was time to put on their bedding, grab some tea and head to bed, ready for Saturday’s activity.
Saturday involved groups using Thronbirdge’s sky ropes and low ropes. For the sky ropes, Adventurers are tasked with completing a circuit of different obstacles at a height of 8 meters. On their rope supported climb, they tackled a scramble net, a leap of faith and other challenges that at ground level seem easy, but 8 meters off the ground become much more difficult.
The low rope challenges involve similar to those of the sky ropes, but much closer to the ground. This activity is preferred by those Adventurers who don’t necessarily have a head for heights but still want to get involved. Though the element of height is taken out of the question, Adventurers are still adequately challenged.
Whether they scaled the sky ropes or battled their way across the low ropes, the Adventurers were well spent and happy to head back to the centre. Some of the guys were also pretty keen to get out of the cold too, and that wasn’t just the Adventurers…
When we got back to the centre, we got the ready for the evening and the activities that we had planned. As always on our short breaks, we look to encourage independence and that our Adventurers do a variety of activities that involve both team work and working on their own. As mentioned above, all of the Adventurers have to make up their own bed on Friday evening, but other tasks include washing and drying the pots, wiping down tables and surfaces and keeping their rooms tidy.
Of course, our qualified instructors are on hand to help with the above tasks if needed, but we feel it is important to help our Adventurers develop and learn these valuable skills themselves. Often parent and carers are surprised as to how much their Adventurer has gotten up to, and state that they never help that much at home!
After we had finished our tasks for Saturday evening, we sat down as a group, played some board games and watched a film to wind down for the evening, before heading to bed. Normally at The Adventure Service, the telly is very much a no no, but we let it slide on short breaks sometimes. Given the dark and cold nights, there is often a lot of time to fill before going to bed.
Sunday, as is often the case, is the slower day out of the two. It involved a walk down the Monsal Trail to visit to the local café. Whilst at the café, the Adventurers got the chance to see some farm animals close up at the cafe’s smallholding. Goats and pig were on the agenda and the Adventurers were happy to see them.
After our trip down the Monsal Trail, we headed back to the centre to pack up our bags and head back to the day service centres, ready for collection at 4pm.
We certainly had a fun weekend and by the sounds of it, the Adventurers did too. We are looking forward to heading out on our next short break on the 16th to the 18th February. We will be at Champion House, doing some indoor rock climbing. If you are coming along on that short break, we are looking forward to hitting the heights with you.
We run our short breaks all year round and we are always ready to accommodate new Adventurers who want to join us on our journey. If you want to become a part of the adventure, head over to the home page of our website and fill out the form at the bottom and someone will be in touch.
See you out there!
P.S - we might have something exciting to announce about short break in the not too distant future. So, keep an eye out…